One Family Towards Dignity

Since 2018, MAPs partners with SNHU to provide 50 Syrian refugee students in Lebanon with an online four-year undergraduate degree. The Higher Education Platform assists and support the students with weekly study periods at the MAPs head office and tutoring support and mentorship.

In partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), MAPs promotes the JISR scholarship to Syrian refugee students in Lebanon to complete a master’s degree in Japan within a 3 year period. MAPs holds dialogue sessions with students and the JICA team and supports students in the application process.

Across all MAPs programs, students and staff are supported through PSS. Our teachers at the Al Amal Teaching Centers participate in a range of PSS training, including a 3-month cooperation with the Ministry of Education in Lebanon and a one-day workshop for English teachers in collaboration with ANERA. In addition, Dr. Solfrid Raknes, our clinical psychologist, conducts two training sessions each year to prepare teachers for the Helping Hands Program. This includes training on how to monitor and teach emotional literacy to refugee children, as well as how to use tablets as an educational tool in the classroom.

MAPs partners with ANERA to conduct the Youth Basic Literacy Numeracy (YBLN) project for 100 Syrian and Lebanese students aged 14 – 25. This program fills the education gap by providing access to basic literacy to students who otherwise are unable to attend school. The program includes a training day for the principals and teachers of the educational centers and provides workshops on how to manage students with learning disabilities.

In 2017, MAPs was selected for a long-term collaboration with the UCL Education Department to enhance teaching practices. UCL teaching experts provide teaching methods workshops for MAPs teachers, including the ‘Teachers as Researchers’ project which trains teachers on how to research and document classroom challenges, followed by strategies on how to prevent these challenges.

MAPs collaborates with the AUB Issam Fares Institute through participation in informal education workshops and research projects. MAPs is collaborating in a project which aims to raise the skills of teachers inside and outside Syria to enable them to be able build their teaching capacity and learn knew engaging teaching methods. The project will continue for the full 2019-2020 academic year and will be implemented in four phases.

In partnership with WFP, MAPs implements a literacy project for 3 phases of 200 Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese. This program fills the education gap by providing access to basic literacy to students who otherwise are unable to attend school. The program includes a training day for the principals and teachers of the educational centers and provides workshops on how to manage students with learning disabilities.Lessons are conducted by EPL teachers every Friday and Saturday for three months at the Al Amal Teaching Centers.

In partnership with IIE, MAPs provides 6 week long courses on communication skills, computer science, and academic essay writing to 20 Syrian refugees.